Friday, June 3, 2011

It's officially summer, and the past week or so has been as busy as ever! On May 25, I attended the Grand Opening of Banner Lodge in Moodus, hosted by RE/MAX Precision Realty. I had a great time talking to the golfers and meeting many people from all over Connecticut. The weather was beautiful! Miss Mountain Laurel, Miss Constitution, and I were lucky enough to get to go up in the RE/MAX hot air balloon! It was tethered down to a few cars, but it still went pretty high off the ground. What an exhilarating opportunity!

The next day, I met with my awesome trainer, Shawn O'Brien. Now that I'm home for the summer, he tailored my workout so that I can get fit using the equipment that I have at home. In the afternoon, my boyfriend of 4 years graduated from Manchester Community College! I'm very proud of him, and he is now volunteering with the Andover Fire Department as well as training to be a certified EMT. Congrats, Rory!

May 28 was a busy and exciting day. It started off bright and early (8:30) with a talent practice in front of my business managers and sister queens. I'm so glad that they enjoyed my talent, and I'm so impressed with their talents as well! Something tells me that we're going to represent the Hartford County/Rocky Hill program very well at the Miss Connecticut and Miss Connecticut's Outstanding Teen pageant. After rehearsal, I got to hang out with my sister queen Annalisa, Miss Hartford County's Outstanding Teen, for a couple hours. I spent the rest of the day at a Breast Cancer Benefit: Pink Pics for Life. The event featured Steve Schappert's BIO WaterCar, which uses water for fuel! This was very cool to learn about, and it was neat to connect with Steve, who is the uncle of one of my good friends from high school. Pink Monkey Water was also featured, which was a really neat product to learn about. The water is scented ( I sampled Orange and Lemon Lime flavors), yet there is no flavor: it is pure water. I especially loved meeting Aanika, the Pink Monkey herself! She is a beautiful little girl who survived a very premature birth, and is now a healthy and vibrant 1 1/2 year old. Meeting Angelo and Nancy, Aanika's parents, was very inspirational. They donate to many charitable causes for children, and understand the importance of giving back. I enjoyed sharing my story of involvement with the Ronald McDonald House as well as my experience of having a disabled older sister. I look forward to working with Pink Monkey Water and the BIOS WaterCar more in the future!

This past Monday was Memorial Day. Unfortunately, the Rocky Hill parade was cancelled due to uncooperative weather. However, the rain and thunder was unable to dampen our patriotic spirit. I attended a Memorial Day service at Rocky Hill High School, where I listened to a couple retired veterans speak, as well as the mayor. It was very inspirational to hear of their dedication to preserving our freedoms, often which we take for granted. After the ceremony, I visited a veteran who is near and dear to my heart, my great aunt Diane. I had so much fun catching up with her and listening to old recordings of her and her sisters singing. Of course, Diane took me all around her residential building and introduced me to everyone. I'm glad I could brighten her day, and I'm especially glad to have her in my life.The month of June started out with a visit to the Ronald McDonald House of New Haven. Brittany Monico, Miss Constitution, was kind enough to accompany me in cooking dinner for the families staying at the house. We had a great time cooking a delicious pasta dinner complete with salad, garlic bread, and cheesecake. I got to spend some time talking to a brave young girl staying at the house for the second time. She came all the way from Puerto Rico to receive treatment at Yale New Haven Hospital. It's reasons like that which make me so passionate about the Ronald McDonald House Charities. Families can stay in a house for little to no cost and receive a home-away-from home, home cooked meals, and the support of other families. It was very rewarding to know that Brittany and I could do something to brighten the day of the families and children who need it most!

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank a couple businesses who have shown me a lot of support as I compete for the title of Miss Connecticut!

Jean Cunningham of Glastonbury Dance Center is supporting me for the second year, and I am so thankful for her generosity! I danced at GDC for 6 years throughout middle school and high school, taking a variety of classes including hip-hop, jazz, tap, ballet, and lyrical. I loved learning to dance in a positive and friendly atmosphere. It is definitely a top-notch dance school. If you're interested in seeing the upcoming recital or signing up for classes, please visit: http://gburydancecenter.weebly.com/ or their facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Glastonbury-Dance-CenterLLC/329003152191

Sterling Jewelers of Wethersfield is also kindly supporting me in my endeavor for the title of Miss Connecticut. Their large collection of jewelry is beautiful, and I have always been greeted with a smiling face every time I have shopped their. I'm very thankful for their support! Visit them at http://www.shopsterlingjewelers.com/ or on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SterlingJewelersCT

Last but not least is my favorite pizza place, The Plum Tomato of Colchester! They have a few locations around Connecticut, so definitely grab a slice of pizza from them sometime. The Plum Tomato is my favorite place to eat with my boyfriend Rory, who LOVES their wings! I'm very lucky to have their support as I compete in the Miss Connecticut pageant. Thank you! Stop by a experience the deliciousness for yourself: http://www.theplumtomato.com/ or on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Plum-Tomato/173279635588?ref=ts&sk=wall

Monday, May 23, 2011

Hi Everyone! I've been out of school just over a week, and already it has been a very busy beginning to summer. I finished up my Junior year at Wagner College earning a 4.0 for the semester and being inducted into Pi Delta Phi, the French National Honors Society. I have officially complete my french minor!

On Saturday, May 14, I helped out at Miss Connecticut's Day of Confidence at the beautiful Maneeley's of South Windsor. Guest speakers included Miss Maryland, Miss Vermont, Penny Pearlman, Dianne Daniels, and Miss Connecticut herself. It was a great event, with about 20 pre-teens in attendance. I am positive that each young lady left the event with a stronger feeling of self-confidence and empowerment; I was very proud to be part of such a great event.

Later that night, I had a mock interview at the Rocky Hill Community Center. With Miss CT just a month away, I'm glad to be getting some extra practice :]on Friday, May 20, I had a voice lesson with my fabulous voice coach, Patty May. I was a little rusty from having bad allergies, but we had a great lesson. I can't wait for everyone to hear my song in June!

Later that day, I attended the Diamond Crowning Ceremony. I helped crown Haylee Patton, Tracy's adorable daughter. I had a great time getting to know the rest of the Miss CT Diamonds. They are an important part of our program, and certainly deserved their shining moment!

On Saturday, I volunteered at a Fisher House fundraiser held at the beautiful Rockwell Park in Bristol! I got to visit with Linda Lubrico, and spent time meeting many new people. I even got to meet our Lt. Governor, Nancy Wyman!

Today I woke up bright and early to attend the Fallen Heroes Golf Tournament at Great River in Milford. I was proud to volunteer for such a worthy cause. First, I helped with a clipping game, keeping score and marking down everyone who played. After a couple hours, I was honored to sing the National Anthem while our flag was presented by the color guard. Despite the rain and cold weather, everyone was in such a good mood to play golf and get to know one another. I look forward to hopefully helping out at this event again in years to come!

Thursday, March 31, 2011

I hope this post finds everyone in good health and happiness. I have been very busy this past month, and I'm getting even more excited for the Miss Connecticut pageant this June. Now that the entire Miss Connecticut Class of 2011 has been crowned, we had a manual distribution meeting. Tackling the paperwork is just as important as preparing for any other aspect of competition, so I'm excited to get started. The theme for this year's pageant is "Glam R Us", which should be a lot of fun! To raise money for our scholarship program, each contestant is asked to sell ads for the program book...if you are interested in advertising your business, or just want to put in a "good luck" memo, please let me know!

On March 25, I had my photo shoot with the Miss Connecticut Scholarship Organization's AMAZING sponsor, Catherine Fiehn. Not only did we do a series of head-shots for the program book, but we also did a glamorous shoot combined with my issue of concern, the Ronald McDonald House Charity. I had so much fun with Catherine; she always makes me feel comfortable and confident in front of the camera. If you're looking for an awesome photographer for a special event, or if you just want some nice photos, I urge you to visit http://www.catherinefiehnphotography.com/

Speaking of the Ronald McDonald House Charity, I participated in our local house's "Dancing Under the Stars" fundraiser. I helped with checking in the guests, showing them their tables, and making sure that everyone was settled in comfortably. It was a lot of fun spending time with the other volunteers who share a similar passion for this charity. The Miss Connecticut Scholarship Organization's own Executive Director, Tom Prete, was one of the celebrity dancers of the evening. I was lucky to sneak into the ballroom to watch his first performance in the smooth category. Tom did a great job, and even won first place in that category! Many other people in the Miss Connecticut family were in attendance, which was wonderful. The event was a great success, and I'm sure that everyone had a great time.On March 26, I participated in a Charity Cycling Challenge. I joined Miss Connecticut, Brittany Decker's team, along with Miss Rocky Hill Kaitlyn Tarpey and Miss Southington Morgan Amarone. We raised money for the Children's Miracle Network, which is the national platform of the Miss America Organization. After arriving around 8 am at Bristol's Healthtrax Center, I cycled alongside Brittany for 3 hours. Though the cycling classes were challenging, it was a lot of fun, and a great workout! Thank you, Brittany, for including me in such a fun event! Though the event is over, I'm still fundraising for the Children's Miracle Network. If you would like to donate, please visit: https://missamericaforkids.org/m.aspx?i=6402C5D12267FD

On Sunday, March 27 was the Miss Hartford County/Rocky Hill Childrens' Pageant! I had a great time emceeing with my fellow sister-queens, Kaitlyn, Annalisa, and Alyssa. All of our contestants did a wonderful job, and I hope that every young lady went home proud of how she competed. Congratulations to our winners...I'm very excited for them to join our Hartford County/Rocky Hill family!

Last but not least, I'm excited to show everyone my trainer's blog post about working with me. Shawn O'Brien is a great trainer, and I'm feeling healthier and stronger every day. I can't wait to show everyone in June how hard I have been working to be the best version of myself that I can possibly be! :]

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

This past week was a huge week for me in terms of Miss Connecticut preparations. First, I met with my amazing trainer, Shawn O'Brien, who is the co-owner of Excel Fitness in West Hartford. Shawn gave me a challenging new workout, and tracked the progress I have made thus far. I'm really excited about the results, and I can't wait to keep working harder and harder to reach my goal!

I also met with my vocal coach, Patty May. We played around with the song I will be singing in the Miss Connecticut pageant, and figured out the cut we are going to use to fit the 90 second time limit. Working with Patty is always a great experience, and I can't wait to show everyone what we have up our sleeves in June!

Last but not least, this past week was full of shopping! First, I found a fabulous interview dress. Later in the week, at The Crowning Touch trunk show, I found my talent gown. Maria Neves showed me many beautiful selections, but it was love at first sight when I tried on my talent gown. I am thrilled with both these additions to my wardrobe, and can't wait to show everyone at the Miss Connecticut pageant in June!

My spring break came to an end with the Miss Mattatuck pageant, which was a great show. Joanna Shields was crowned Miss Mattatuck 2011, Brittany Monico was crowned Miss Constitution 2011, Melissa Doyle was crowned Miss Mattatuck's Outstanding Teen 2011, and Alyscia Talbot was crowned Miss Constitution's Outstanding Teen 2011. All the contestants did a fantastic job! Sunday was the Miss Connecticut Forum and final local pageant of the season. Though I could only stay for a little bit of the forum, it was very informational and set the tone for a very exciting pageant this June. Later that evening, Alex Tenney was crowned Miss Mountain Laurel 2011 and Jessica Lesage was crowned Miss Nutmeg 2011! I'm very excited for them to complete the Miss Connecticut Class of 2011.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

This evening I attended the Miss Greater Hamden pageant at the Squarefoot Theater. I was ecstatic to watch several girls new to the Miss America Organization vie for the title and the opportunity to compete at Miss Connecticut in June. Each girl was incredibly beautiful, talented, and poised...and even though only one title could be given out, I would love to see each of them come back next weekend to compete again. I was incredibly impressed! Congratulations to Casey Delbasso, who was crowned Miss Greater Hamden 2011!

Casey competed in the teen division at Miss Connecticut last June, and I'm so glad that she decided to come back and compete in the miss division!

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Today I finally got my hair cut! Anyone who has seen me over the past couple months knows that my hair had gotten ridiculously long--down to my belly button. While I love having long glamorous hair, mine had gotten to the point where it was unmanageable and had no shape. Luckily, Tracy of Cutters' Edge Salon fit me into her schedule. Going in to the salon, I didn't really know what I wanted. My only asking points were that my hair was shorter, but not actually short. Tracy offered some great suggestions, and explained how a new cut would shift the focus from my hair to me. After about an hour, I left the salon with beautiful, healthy, and shorter locks! I'm so thrilled with my new hair (and the fact that I feel 10 pounds lighter). If you're looking for a new style to start 2011, check out http://www.mycuttersedgesalon.com/!